Kaapo Kakko
| Kaapo Kakko | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Kakko at the 2019 NHL Entry Draft in Vancouver | |||
| Born |
13 February 2001 Turku, Finland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | ||
| Weight | 192 lb (87 kg; 13 st 10 lb) | ||
| Position | Right wing | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| Liiga team | TPS | ||
| National team |
 Finland | ||
| NHL draft |
2nd overall, 2019 New York Rangers | ||
| Playing career | 2017–present | ||
Kaapo Kakko (born 13 February 2001) is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward who is currently playing with HC TPS of the Finnish Liiga. Kakko was selected second overall by the New York Rangers in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Kakko plays right wing, but also has experience playing at center. Kakko is one of few professional players who has both Type 1 diabetes and celiac disease.[1][2]
Playing career
On 21 June 2019, as the top ranked European skater heading into the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, Kakko was selected in the first-round, 2nd overall, by the New York Rangers.[3][4]
International play
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ice hockey | ||
| Representing Finland
| ||
| World Championships | ||
 |
2019 Slovakia | |
| World Junior Championships | ||
|
2019 Canada | |
| World U18 Championships | ||
|
2018 Russia | |
Kakko scored the gold medal winning goal for team Finland in the 2019 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships on 5 January 2019.[5] Kakko is the youngest player in hockey history to win gold in all three IIHF world championship tournaments; World U18 Championships, World Junior Championships and World Championships.[6]
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2016–17 | TPS | Jr. A | 7 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2017–18 | TPS | Jr. A | 38 | 25 | 30 | 55 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | TPS | Liiga | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | TPS | Liiga | 45 | 22 | 16 | 38 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 6 | ||
| Liiga totals | 51 | 22 | 17 | 39 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 6 | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Finland | U18 | 
|
7 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 2 | |
| 2019 | Finland | WJC |
|
7 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2019 | Finland | WC |
|
10 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 0 | |
| Senior totals | 10 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 0 | ||||
Awards and honours
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Liiga | ||
| Jarmo Wasama memorial trophy (Liiga Rookie of the Year) | 2019 | |
| President's Trophy (Most impressive player in Finnish ice hockey) | 2019 | |
References
- ^ Rivard, Happy. "A look ahead at the 2019 Draft Class". Hockey Wilderness. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- ^ Staff, HP. "HockeyProspect.com's Early 2019 NHL Draft Top 31 Ranking". Hockey Prospect. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- ^ "Hughes tops 2019 NHL Draft final ranking of North American skaters". National Hockey League. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
- ^ "Devils take Jack Hughes at No.1, and the Rangers pick Kaapo Kakko". New York Times. 21 June 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Aykroyd, Lucas. "Kaapo Kakko gives Finns gold". IIHF. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
- ^ Peters, Chris (28 May 2019). "Prospect Kakko to pass on scouting combine". ESPN.com. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
It also marked Kakko's third world championship in as many tries. He also helped Finland win the World Men's Under-18 Championship in 2018 and the World Junior Championship in January. He is the youngest player in IIHF history to complete the trifecta.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
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